Athawale asks governor to check numbers before inviting anybody

Ramdas Athawale, who heads the Athawale faction of the Republican Party of India, today met Governor
P C Alexander and urged him not to call any party or a combination of parties which does not have the numbers to form a government.

He was obviously referring to the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance which is 19 short of simple majority.

Athawale, who won the Pandharpur Lok Sabha seat as an independent, is an ally of the Nationalist Congress Party-led Progressive Democratic Front. His meeting with the governor lasted over 15 minutes.

When it was pointed out to him that even the Congress does not not have the requisite numbers and that without the support of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party the formation of a secular government was a remote possibility, he said he was of the opinion that the NCP and the Congress should sink their differences and come together.

Athawale, who led a five-member delegation to the Raj Bhavan, said that the secular parties should endeavour to prevent the Sena-BJP alliance from coming back to power in the state. He said that the Congress must take the NCP into confidence and negotiate with smaller groups and independents and give final shape to a viable alternative.